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Konosuke Funayuki Gyuto 270mm review

At long last, and after a lot of back and forth about ferrules (that's enough about that), I got the Konosuke I'd long been lusting after this past Friday. I'm posting a bunch of pictures at members' request, and I thought I'd share some initial thoughts. Keep in mind that these thoughts are from a home chef, and I don't have nearly the expertise or experience as many of the members of this forum.

First off, as I hope the photos show, this is a big knife, with a blade length of 277mm. I put it next to my Carbonext 240mm, which is a true 240mm blade, so you can get a sense of its size. For further perspective, it is on a 12" X 18" cutting board. Now, because this knife is so thin, it is a lot lighter than your average 270, which is why so many people recommend getting the 270 even for those who are used to a non-laser 240. I'm glad I did this, especially since the Kono 240s are quite short, particularly the funayuki. That said, this still feels like a big knife in my hands, and while it is much more nimble than any other knife of this length is likely to be, it isn't *that* light. It still feels like big knife. Luckily I use a pinch grip and, as you can see from the photo where I'm holding it, that significantly reduces the amount of blade I'm working with. Don't get me wrong, I don't wish I'd bought the 240 (I'm sure I'd regret it if I had), but this knife is still going to take some getting used to.

The knife was very sharp OOTB: it shaved arm hair and glided through newspaper with no sharpening. I've since only stropped it on loaded leather, and it is extremely sharp. My hope is that I won't have to sharpen anytime soon. As many of you know, the edge is quite convex on the face of the knife, which seems to enhance the cutting experience significantly.

Regrettably I haven't had time to put this to the test nearly as much as I'd like, but I have cut up a bunch of onions, shallots, scallions, and potatoes. So far the performance is excellent. It glides through veggies using a push cut with a minimal need for forward motion. I was especially impressed by how well the tip worked on shallots -- the size of the knife was really not an impediment here.

My choil shots are not stellar, but I hope it gives you some sense of the thinness of the blade and the degree of distal taper, which is noticeable, but not dramatic, as I think you'd expect from such a thin blade.

F&F was excellent -- though the initial knife I received (with the blond ferrule) had some issues of fit between the handle and ferrule, this one is near perfect, almost perfectly flush.

Three minor gripes so far: First, this knife is a bit blade-heavy (see photo where I'm balancing on my finger). When I exchanged the knife I almost went for the ebony handle, figuring that would help push the balance more toward the handle, but in the end I didn't want to detract from the light weight of the knife, so I stuck with the ho handle.

Second, I was not overly impressed with the choil. It has been rounded some, but it is still rather sharp, and I think this could be an issue for a pro cook. If I was working the line, I'd probably want to round out the choil.

Third, and this is really very minor, but I can't understand why the kanji is on the back of the blade. This is a purely asthetic issue when it's on a magnetic strip, but I did find that odd (maybe it's not as unusual as I think).

Hope this is helpful. I'm happy to answer any questions that I'm able to.

One thing I forgot to mention: The profile of this knife is really great for push cutting. Just the slightest hint of a belly, and lots of contact with the board. But it is possible to rock on it, it's not completely flat.

Yes, there is plenty of knuckle clearance. I think I may have taken some of these photos at a strange angle, but if you look at the shot next to the carbonext, hopefully you can see the Konos is significantly taller.